


Caring For A Friend

by akwardcadabra



Series: Life at the Stark Tower [5]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Bonding, Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Is a Good Bro, Couch Cuddles, Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Loki (Marvel) Feels, M/M, Platonic Cuddling, Platonic Male/Male Relationships, Platonic Relationships, Star Wars References, steve is a sweetheart, tony is a sweetheart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-24
Updated: 2018-05-24
Packaged: 2019-05-13 09:22:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14746140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/akwardcadabra/pseuds/akwardcadabra
Summary: Loki is devastated as the anniversary of his mother's death approaches and he gets a chest full of childhood memories on top of that. Bucky is there to comfort him, because he himself finds great comfort in caring for others.





	Caring For A Friend

**Author's Note:**

> I have a headcannon that whenever Bucky is sad, scared, etc. he finds great comfort in caring for others, whether it's a simply thing as helping them cook or something of more importance, like his friends feeling sad. He's really happy to be able to help his friends and make them happy.

“I just don’t know how to help him feel less conscious about his arm.“ Steve sighed, as he sipped on his cup of juice.

Tony watched him from the bench. “Have you tried talking about it?”

“Yes, of course I have.” Steve said quickly. “I’m just worried about him.”

“He was fine before.” Tony mumbled. “What happened? Did something happen?”

“He seems to be a bit self-conscious about it. Most people we met never seemed to care. Some of them knew about his past and felt sorry for him. Most kids we met thought it looked cool. But he is so self-conscious of it. I really want to help him.” Steve sighed sadly. “I’m his boyfriend and I should take care of him.”

Tony nodded and smiled. “Alright, let’s go for a walk and while doing that, we’ll think of a way to help him. A little bit of fresh air will help us clear our heads.”

Steve nodded and got up, smiling brightly. “That’s a good idea. A bit of activity and fresh air will really help.”

“But no jogging.” Tony laughed. “I’m really not into running with you, after everything I’ve heard about you from Sam.”

“I think I know exactly what he told you.” Steve chuckled. “Alright, let’s go. The sooner we get going, the sooner we can find an idea and the sooner I’ll be able to help Bucky.”

“That’s the kind of enthusiasm that I want to hear.” The shorter man laughed lightly, before getting up and waking towards the door with Steve. As they entered the living room, the nearly ran into Loki.

“Oh, hey sweetcheeks.” Tony teased. “Haven’t seen you in a few hours. I was wondering what you were up to.”

“Tony.” Loki breathed softly. “Can we go to our room? I want to talk to you.”

“Actually, Steve and I were just about to take a walk.” Tony smiled, before pressing a kiss to Loki’s cheek. “I’ll see you later.” He smiled softly. 

“Are you okay?” Steve asked softly, flashing Loki a small smile. “What do you want to talk to Tony about?”

Loki shook his head, swallowing thickly. “Yes, I’ll be fine. It was nothing important. Maybe we can just talk later. Have fun.”

“Are you sure you’ll be fine?” Tony asked softly, wrapping an arm around Loki’s shoulders, pressing a few kisses to his cheek. “If you are, we’ll be going. Steve needs my help with something.”

“I’m fine.” Loki said softly. “I hope you can find a way to help him.”

“I will.” Tony grinned. “We’ll get going, alright? If you need anything, call me.” He kissed his cheek again. “Alright, I’ll see you later.” With that he let go and started to walk towards the door. Steve followed him.

“I will see you later.” Loki whispered, watching them leave, before slowly turning and walking to his room.

\---

Bucky was on the way down the hall to get something to eat, having just heard that Steve was out on a walk with Tony. He was just passing Loki’s bedroom, when he heard sniffling from the inside. Without hesitation, he knocked on the door before opening it and slowly entering.

“Loki? Are you alright?” He whispered.

“Yes, of course.” The man said, shaking his head. “Why?” 

Bucky approached him and eyed the wooden chest on the floor. “What’s that?” He waited, but Loki didn’t answer. Thus he tried again, “We’re friends. You can tell me.” He slowly sat down on the bed next to Loki.

“Thor was on Asgard a few days ago; just checking in on everyone. He found this chest, while looking for something in my parents’ room. It was my mother’s.” He explained. “He brought it back here for me. Just as the anniversary of her death is coming up, he brings me this.”

“May I look inside?” Bucky asked and reached for the chest, when Loki nodded in agreement. He slowly opened it and found it to be filled with small wooden and metallic toys. Most of the toys were animals, such as horses or bears. The floor seemed to be covered in parchments. He took the horse toy out of the box and examined it. 

“Those were childhood toys that she had someone make for me. The parchments are drawing that I drew for her as a child. Most of them are us playing, having fun or doing magic.” Loki explained quietly.

“These toys are really pretty.” Bucky smiled. “She had that someone put a lot of effort into them. Then again, you are the prince so only the best for you, I suppose.” He said softly. “Did they have names?”

“No, not the toys. There is some kind of plush toy in there. I called her Frigga. After my mother. When I told her, she picked me up and spun me around. I was about seven years in human years. She thought it was the sweetest thing.” The god chuckled sadly.

“Are you sad?” Bucky asked softly. “Can I do anything for you?”

“It really helped to talk about it, actually. I tried to talk to Tony, but he was busy.” Loki sighed. “Something about helping Steve with some problems.”

“Oh, I know what they meant by that.” Bucky sighed. “Steve thinks I’m self-conscious about my arm.”

“Are you?” Loki whispered.

“To be bluntly honest, I am. But he can’t really help with that. I know that no one hates me for it. It’s just that it reminds me of a very bad time and it evokes fears of it repeating itself.” The brunet sighed.

“It won’t.” Loki said quickly. “We’re all here to protect you from anyone who might do you any harm. We are friends, right? So you should trust me.”

“Yes, I know that.” Bucky smiled softly. “Hey, how can I help you?”

“You really don’t have to.” Loki explained quickly. “You have problems yourself.”

“But I want to.” Bucky smiled softly. “Listen; it really helps me to be able to help other people. It doesn’t matter how I help them; I’d do anything from something as simple as helping them cook to comforting them when they feel horrible, like you do right now. It helps me to know that I’m able to do good to people, instead of harm them. And it especially helps me, when I’m not feeling well.” He leaned closer. “Can I please just try to help you?”

“Alright, if it helps you to help me, then by all means do so.” The black haired male said softly. “I just don’t know what would help me. Nothing can fix this problem. My mother is dead and she’s not coming back.” Loki’s voice was strained and Bucky was fairly certain that he was close to crying.

“It’s alright, if you need to cry. I know you have your pride, but everyone needs to cry now and again. You should just let it all out. I’m here to comfort you.” Bucky smiled.

Loki sighed. “Crying is not going to help the situation.”

“It doesn’t have to. Crying rarely solves the problem, but it doesn’t have to; it can make you feel better, however.” Bucky said and slowly reached out with his right arm to pull Loki into a hug. The other man let him, figuring that if it helped Bucky, it was alright. “See? Now relax and if you need to cry, then you can do so. It hurts to lose your parent, I know.”

Loki shook his head, tears in his eyes. “I’m fine.”

Bucky sighed softly, running his fingers through the raven hair. “I can’t force you to cry, but you sound like you’re going to cry. And that’s alright. I won’t judge you and I won’t leave until you feel better.”

“Thank you.” Loki whispered, before he broke down crying. Bucky held him tighter, carefully putting his left arm around the other man, shushing him softly. 

“That’s it. Let it all out. You’re alright. I can understand why you’re so devastated about it and about the contents of the chest.” Bucky said softly. “I’ve got you. And I won’t let you go, until you feel better.”

Loki merely nodded, slowly reaching up to hold onto Bucky’s shirt with one hand, as he let himself cry. The other man smiled softly to himself, happy to be able to take care of Loki. He slowly started to hum a melody, which seemed to catch the other’s attention. He quickly looked up.

“I’ve never heard that melody before.” Loki whispered, his cheeks tear-stained.

“I didn’t expect you to. You didn’t grow up on earth.” Bucky chuckled. “And I also just made it up. I don’t think it’s an actual song.”

Loki nodded and lowered his head again. Bucky took the initiative and pulled him tighter to himself. “Thank you.” 

“Am I hurting you? If I’m hurting you with my arm you have to tell me.” Bucky quickly explained, but Loki shook his head.

“You aren’t. And I’m quite durable, you know?” 

Bucky chuckled and went back to humming, while running a hand through Loki’s hair. After half an hour, Loki had calmed down and Bucky looked down at him.

“Are you feeling better?”

“Yes, a lot better. Thank you.”

“That’s what friends are for. Now how about we distract you a little bit?” Bucky smiled gently. “We could watch a movie?”

“If you’d like to.”

“Yes, of course. Alright, let’s go downstairs and watch a movie. I have to pick up on new movies, anyways. How about ‘Star Wars’? I heard Sam talk about it.”

“Isn’t that movie about twenty years old?” Loki chuckled. 

“Yes, but it’s still fairly new. And it’s a movie you have to see. That’s what Sam said.”

“I suppose, if I have to see it, I might as well see it with you.” Loki said softly and nodded. Bucky smiled proudly and got up, helping Loki to stand –despite the protests of the other. Then they went down into the TV room to watch the movie, only to find out that there were three original movies, three prequels and two sequels. They decided to watch all of the movies together, distributing them over several days.

\---

When Steve and Tony came home, they found their boyfriends curled up on the sofa, cuddling together, eating popcorn and discussing ‘A New Hope’. Tony chuckled softly and Steve cleared his throat.

“You watched ‘Star Wars’ without me?” 

“These aren’t the druids you’re looking for.” Bucky laughed, waving a hand at Tony and Steve, before smiling as he heard Loki chuckle. “Loki was sad and I wanted to distract him.”

“Sad?” Tony exclaimed. “You said you were fine three hours ago.”

“I didn’t want to bother you.” Loki said softly. “You seemed busy.”

“Not too busy to comfort the man I love.” Tony shook his head. “Why were you sad?”

“Can I tell you in private?” Loki asked, looking up at the smaller man.

“Yes, of course. We’ll go to my room and you can tell me why you were sad. And if we can, we’ll find a solution. And if we can’t do that, I’ll comfort you.” Tony said quickly. “I really want to be a good boyfriend. Come on, let’s go upstairs.”

Loki nodded, giving him a weak smile, before getting up. Bucky slowly but a hand on his back. “Will you be alright?”

“Yes, thank you for taking care of me.”

“Thank you for letting me take care of you.” Bucky chuckled, watching them leave. Tony lead Loki to the elevator, a hand on his back. 

They talked for a long time and eventually ended up curled up on the bed together, Tony petting Loki’s hair. Loki was telling him stories about his mother, how sweet she was and how protective she was of her sons; and of how distraught the god was, when she died. Tony nonetheless smiled at Loki entrusting him with this vulnerable part of himself, happy that he could comfort him and be there for him.

Meanwhile, Bucky turned and smiled at Steve. “You and Tony were out? Did you find a solution to the problem you were having?”

“You know what we were talking about.” Steve said, sitting down next to Bucky and turning off the TV. “You’re self-conscious about your arm. And I want to help you.”

“Steve, do you know what would help me?”

“Tell me and I’ll do it. I’ll do anything.” The blond said softly, taking Bucky’s hands into his own. “Anything.”

“Can you try to ignore the fact that I have this arm? Can you stop giving it extra attention; more attention than it needs to have? I don’t want to ignore it or anything; I just don’t want you to reduce me to my arm and to some poor guy that needs help, because he’s feeling self-conscious.” Bucky explained. “Just treat me like your boyfriend, who needs a little bit of reassurance about it sometimes; the type of reassurance you would give me, if I didn’t like any other part of me.”

Steve nodded slowly. “I will. If that is what helps you, I will do it. But if you need any help or reassurance, tell me.”

“I will. I promise.” Bucky smiled.

Steve smiled back. “That’s great. So you and Loki seem to get along nicely, right?”

“Oh, yes. He doesn’t even acknowledge that I have this arm, unless we explicitly talk about it and he lets me take care of him.”

“Does something like that help you?”

“I like to know that I can help people. I like to know that they trust me enough to allow me to help with something. And Loki let me help him with something personal and that made me feel so trustful, like I’m actually a good friend of his. I think that the greatest feeling any human can feel, is the feeling that they helped someone else.”

“That’s a really pure and selfless thing to feel.”

“Isn’t that exactly what makes us heroes?” 

“It’s what makes us humans; and good ones at that.”

Bucky smiled. “Getting sappy, are we?”

“You started it.” Steve laughed, and then looked around. “You watched the movie without me and I’m still annoyed.”

“Are you sulking?” Bucky teased. “I could watch it again.”

“Later, alright?” Steve smiled. “Let’s just sit back and talk for a while.”

“I like the idea.” Bucky smiled. “If you ever need help, tell me, alright?”

“You’ll be the first person I would tell.” Steve smiled. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” Bucky smiled.


End file.
